Leverty Report and Hoggs Falls

On October 28 with Sandra and Bruce, we covered the section we are responsible for as Bruce Trail Land Stewards.  A week before, we had difficulty locating one of the boundary markers for the property, but we found it easily this time (instructions from Glenda and fewer yellow leaves helped).  We crossed the creek using the alternate route (easier) and stopped at a bench for great views before turning back.  A stop at Heathcote on the way to the cottage resulted in a blueberry pie which we enjoyed for dinner that night.

Only 2 days later, conditions had changed significantly.  Snow overnight left frosty hiking conditions and pretty snow covered branches for our visit to Hoggs  Falls.  With Louise, we admired the 3 new bridges and fresh boardwalks.  The Beaver Valley BTC volunteers earned an award for this work at the recent AGM.  

We planned a quick lunch in Flesherton after the hike, but this was not to be.  Due to construction and closures, nothing in the central area of town was open.  After a visit to the museum and a fruitless walk on Hwy 10, we finally ended up at the Burger Guru, where we devoured BLTs with fries.  

Leverty Property and Herman McConnell Memorial Forest

We have joined the Beaver Valley Bruce Trail Club's team of volunteer Land Stewards and have been assigned a 37-acre property which fronts onto Sideroad 16C near the Sligo Side Trail named Leverty. We toured the property today with Jamie Upton, the Land Stewardship Director and learned about our responsibilities.  It is a beautiful section with varied terrain including meadow, deciduous forest, and a section that was reforested years ago by several youth groups.  Removing plastic from around the bottoms of the trunks of those trees and cutting back the invasive buckthorn are priority projects.

After the tour, we walked south into the McConnel Forest, visiting an area we hiked with Sandra and Bruce last fall. A bench appeared only a few minutes after we had lunch sitting on the ground - something to remember for next time. 

It was a warm day and the bugs were out.  Steve took full precautions, Barb took none. We heard a number of birds and could identify red-eyed vireo, ovenbird and blackthroated blue warblers by their calls with the help of the Merlin app.

The path was lined with Trilliums in areas with dappled sunlight.  We were pleased not to have missed them.

Metcalf Rock, Duncan Crevice and Chuck Grant Side Trail

For our first hike of 2023 (except for snowshoe hikes) we chose a loop of about 10k that took us clockwise from North of Metcalf Rock, around the Mill Creek Valley to Pinacle Rock and through the Duncan Crevices.  It was an unusually warm day for April with surprisingly little mud.  Coltsfoot and Bloodroot where the only wild flowers we saw, but there were areas carpeted with trout lilly shoots that will bloom soon.  The trail is very well maintained with a number of solid bridges and boardwalks.  

We enjoyed our lunch on a bench looking across the valley towards Metcalf where we could make out a few hikers but no climbers.  We continued along a fairly flat path towards the parking area on 9th sideroad but turned off to follow the Chuck Grant Sidetrail back to the car.  The side trail starts with a smooth section, but the ascent at the end was a workout.  If we were to bring guests that prefer flat terrain, the section from the 9th sideroad to Pinnacle Rock would be a nice route.